Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee the right to housing
Housing costs have increased and heavily impacts the poor
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Housing costs have increased and heavily impacts the poor;Desmond 15. Desmond, Matthew. Matthew Desmond is assistant professor of sociology and social studies at Harvard University. He is an affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty. "Unaffordable America: Poverty, Housing, and Eviction." Fast Focus 22 (2015): n. pag. Institute for Research on Poverty. University of Wisconsin--Madison, Mar. 2015. Web. 18 July 2016. At least since the National Housing Act of 1937, which established America’s public housing system, policymakers have believed that families should spend no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. Until recently, most renting households in the United States have met this goal. But times have changed. Today most renting households are not able to meet what long has been considered the standard metric of affordability and spend considerably more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.1 Between 1991 and 2013, the percentage of renter households in America dedicating under 30 percent of their income to housing costs fell from 54 percent to 43 percent. During that same time, the percentage of renter households paying at least half of their income to housing costs rose from 21 percent to 30 percent. African American and Hispanic American families, the majority of whom rent their housing, were disproportionately affected by these trends. In 2013, 23 percent of black renting families and 25 percent of Hispanic renting families spent at least half of their income on housing.2 Renter households below the poverty line have been the hardest hit by the surge in housing burden in the United States (see Figure 1). The percentage of poor renting households dedicating less than 30 percent of their income to housing fell from 27 percent to 19 percent between 1991 and 2013. Meanwhile, the percentage dedicating at least half of their income to housing rose from 42 percent to 52 percent. Today, the majority of poor renting families spend at least half of their income on housing costs. And almost a quarter—representing over a million families—dedicate over 70 percent of their income to pay rent and keep the lights on. Download 95.74 Kb. Share with your friends:
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